Velvet Cake
by KrisWitherKay
Summary: During the first winter break at Beacon, when all the students get to go back home for the holidays, Velvet gets to work at her family friend's patisserie, The Velveteen, where all types of customers await. One-shot.


Velvet Cake

**I would like to thank RT user doctorwho42 for submitting such a cute battle outfit in to the costume competition and for giving me all these feels about it. So much so that I just had to write a fic about it.**

In a distant, countryside town it was the late afternoon and the local schools had begun to close. The mothers and fathers would be waiting at the gates to greet their young children with smiles and hugs and to take them home after a long day of work, for both the adults and the children.

But Velvet Scarlatina knew that this is where her day began to get tough. Velvet was a trainee-Huntress at the prestigious Beacon Academy, the place that she had always dreamed of going. But unfortunately, last week signalled the start of the Christmas holidays and the headmaster, Professor Ozpin, liked to give the students the opportunity to enjoy their youth before they are forced to battle for real. This meant that Velvet was required to go back to her quaint, little hometown where she had promised some family friends that she would lend a hand in their tasteful little patisserie.

Velvet had worked part time at this all-Faunus-personnelled café for a couple of years now and was considered a veteran by her fellow employees but she would always get flustered and hastily deny it. Velvet sighed from behind the counter where she stood and patted down the pink, striped, white skirt of her dress and brushed some flour off her brown sleeveless tunic.

As the clock chimed four o'clock, Velvet knew that this is when the shop would start to get busy and only with a single type of customer. _Mothers_. She had no grudges against mothers per se, they brought a lot of business in to the patisserie and she was glad that they enjoyed the cakes that she helped to make enough to come back again and again. Her troubles were with only a single mother and it wasn't even her fault.

Charlotte, she knew the mother's name as, was perfectly friendly and always had a smile on her face whenever the two talked. It was her 7 year old son, Max, that was the one to get on Velvet's nerves.

When the two first began to come in, before Velvet began to attend Beacon, Max was actually quite a shy boy and Velvet found it rather endearing in the way that he hid behind his mother's skirts. But during the summer before Beacon when she worked here full time, the mother and child became regular visitors and Max had opened up to Velvet quite a lot, as she was now considered a familiar face. But that was where the problem laid.

Velvet sighed once again but jumped as the bell to the front door sounded, signalling the start of the imminent wave. Her co-workers also heard the chime and seemed to put a bit more energy in to their steps. Even though no one complained about the speed of their service and they were by no means understaffed, the employees felt that they had to step up their game to deal with the sudden increase of customers, there may also be a few new customers and that could prove a challenge in its own right.

The first customers that came in were regulars that Velvet recognised but her co-workers swept in and guided them to their tables and took their orders for drinks. But the next couple of customers that came in Velvet definitely knew that they had never been in before. The way they looked around at the general, feminine atmosphere was a big giveaway.

They approached the counter and Velvet greeted them with a smile.

"Welcome to The Velveteen! How could I help you today?" She chirped but the faces on the customers nowhere near reflected Velvet's own.

"Well, you could start by getting us an actual waiter, bun-bun." The portly woman on the left said.

"We wouldn't want any fur from the barnyard animals to get in our food, now would we?" The dangerously, underweight woman on the right spat at her with a devilish grin. The two laughed at the distasteful joke and Velvet made a slight tug at her ruffled, white bib as the heat rose up her neck and her ears twitched nervously.

_So now it begins_.

Velvet honestly hadn't thought that any of these types of customers would come in today. The usual crowd of mothers would normally fill the café quickly and any new customers would be put off from the lack of seating and would prefer to find a meal in a quieter establishment. But, as it was happening today, if the new customers came in fast enough, they could be seated quite quickly. Although, it proved a problem when the workforce encountered _this_ kind of person.

Even though the Faunus War had ended years ago, a treaty had been signed and the Faunus had gained the rights to live in freedom outside of Menagerie with equal rights to pure humans and public acts of discrimination towards the Faunus can now be punished by law, there are still individual, although uncommon cases of it by some people. It's a typical stereotype that it's the rich families that have a lot of power to sway even countries that are the ones that still hold the grudge. After all, it was a known fact that these big families and corporations used cheap Faunus labour to minimise the costs of employment.

Velvet herself had learned about the Faunus War as it happened only a few years ago and was still ignorant of quite a few details but she didn't seek them out. It was a depressing subject and she chose not to delve in to it. Yet sometimes, like now, she was brought directly in to the line of fire. But this was the risk that a business took when the store only employed Faunus, not for any chance of cheap labour, but as a sign of protest. Velvet wasn't a protestor by any means, she just liked working in this friendly environment with her family friends.

"A-all of our long-haired employees take the necessary precau-" Velvet tried to reply with a textbook response but it was quickly interrupted by the portly woman.

"I _thought_ I made a request, bun-bun?" She bit loudly. "Are you just going to _ignore_ potential customers?"

Velvet could see in her peripheral vision that the few customers that were already seated were shifting anxiously at their tables, obviously wanting to just eat in their usual carefree atmosphere.

"If by 'a-actual waiter', y-you mean a human waiter then I'll have to apologise." Velvet took a deep bow but quickly regretted it as she saw that her clasped hands were now shaking. "Every employee here at The Velveteen is a Faunus. W-we don't employ humans."

The two women shared a glance with each other as Velvet timidly, but successfully, shot down the portly woman. Though Velvet's nervously flickering eyes didn't let the slight smirk from the underweight lady go undetected.

"We'd like to speak to the manager then." She said with confidence. "_Face to face_."

Velvet had no choice but to nod and move to the back of the counter area where there was an intercom mounted to the wall. She pressed the button and took a deep breath before speaking in to it.

"B-Boss?" She called. "I'm sorry to bother you, b-but there are a couple of customers who are requesting your presence."

She let go of the button and waited a few seconds for a reply. But soon enough, a deep gruff, man's voice came back through.

"Are they regulars?" He asked.

"No sir, I think they're first timers." Velvet replied and there was a longer pause this time before a pop came through the mic and the manager replied again.

"I'll be right there, tell them to wait, Tina."

A shaky smile flashed on her face at the mention of the manager's affectionate nickname for her. He had nicknames for all the employees here but she didn't really know why he went through the effort of thinking them up. Maybe it was a gay guy thing?

"The manager will be with you shortly." Velvet told the women as she turned back to them and they visibly huffed.

"I can't believe health and safety even let this place exist!" The skinny woman exclaimed in to the now awkwardly silent store. "There must be animal hair all over. The floor and the food, I bet there'll be some poor soul that has an allergic reaction to you moulting all over them."

"I-I only moult in the summer…" Velvet murmured but she wasn't left to wallow in her despair for even a minute as a large, welcome hand clapped down on her shoulder and her shaking instantly stopped. "B-Boss!"

"Ah, so you're the manager here?" The portly woman was looking sceptical but the manager just looked at her strangely.

"That was a good guess." He said as he folded his densely, muscled arms over his wide chest. "How'd you know I was the manager here?"

"Isn't it obvious?" The larger woman said snootily. "Bun-bun here called you 'Boss'."

Velvet saw grin spread across the manager's face and she knew exactly why. They had fallen straight in to his trap.

"Why wouldn't she call me Boss?" He replied with just as much sass. "It is my _name,_ after all."

The two women gaped at the tall man in front of them. Velvet had seen that they were too busy looking down their noses to look the manager in the face. So it had come as a surprise when they looked up in to his bright, yellow, slit-pupiled eyes that very rarely seemed to blink in his dark, skinned head. He raised his spade of a hand to his bald, scaled head and licked his lips with his thin, forked tongue before he sighed.

"My name is Boss Bruno Gujic." He introduced but he didn't offer them a handshake. "I founded The Velveteen and still manage it after 27 years. Is there something I can help you with?"

The manager hadn't spoken threateningly at all but seeing his 6' 5" self, staring down at you with a serpent's eyes it enough to put even Velvet off her lunch. But she knew him to be a very sweet and encouraging man. He only gets like this when he really has to, most of the time it's when his staff is in trouble or being threatened. Last year, some teenagers had thrown a brick through the front window with a note attached that read '_Go back to Menagerie_' but Boss was having none of it.

Velvet didn't know the perpetrators but apparently Boss did and he also recognised their hand writing, so he had personally gone over to their homes and dragged them across the town by the scruff of the neck to the police station where they were told off by the officers and their parents received a fine that would cover the repairs to the shop window.

Apparently these ladies weren't as brave as those kids had been as they noticeably shrunk away from the counter.

"No, we don't need to stand here and be threatened by the likes of _you_." The portly woman grabbed her friend's arm and waddled back through the door and the patisserie was silent for a few seconds more before something thumped in to Velvet's back and she was almost knocked over.

It wrapped its little arms around her waist and squeezed tight, burying it's face in to her ribs. But she didn't have much time to pay attention to the small person as the manager placed his hand on her shoulder once again and turned her to him.

"You OK, Tina?" He asked. "They didn't hurt you did they?"

"No, not at all." She said with a smile. "They were just the same as all the others that do that."

"That's my girl." Boss cheered and ruffled her hair, flattening her tall, rabbit ears in the process. But he didn't do it for long, knowing that careless actions around a Faunus' ears or tail, if they had them, could unintentionally hurt them. Instead he placed his meat hand on the head of the person with their arms around Velvet's waist that she had almost forgotten about. "Don't pick on Tina too much today, Max. We'll be busy today and Tina has enough on her plate without having to babysit you."

"I don't need babysitting, old man!" Max shouted as he pushed the manager's paw off his fiery, red hair, let go of Velvet's waist and hastily set about righting it to a way that he liked. "But fine, only three teases today."

Max wore a frown on his freckled face but the bright look in his green eyes gave his elation away.

It was a well-known fact around here that Max liked to tease Velvet once he had gotten comfortable around her. But Velvet had quickly grown frustrated with his incessant, childish pranking and had yelled at him. He had gotten upset that time but Velvet had been adamant for once. Plus he was still a child, she could threaten him with easy things that even a timid girl like her could pull off.

"_If you don't want me to hate you._" She had blackmailed. "_You've got to tone down on the jokes!"_

He didn't like the proposal but he had felt guilt about pushing Velvet past her breaking point so he submitted to her terms and limited it to five teasings per visit. But if she was having a bad day, of his own accord, Max had decided that he would cut back even more and limit himself to just three. Velvet yearned for these days as well as feared them. She knew that three was a much more manageable amount than the original five but it is exactly for that reason that Max thought that he had to make those three count and he can have them all thought up within seconds.

"Thanks Max." Velvet smiled down at him and he hid his face as his cheeks turned an innocent pink. "Where's your mother today?"

Max pointed deeper in to the store, to a beautiful woman with bobbed, chocolaty hair and the brightest smile around. Almost upon instinct she turned to Velvet and her grin only widened as she waved her greeting. Velvet smiled and waved back to the retired Huntress at the table already feeling better now that her favourite customer was in the building.

"She's getting me a Coke." He said and Velvet patted his head.

"That and a slice of chocolate cake became your regular order pretty quick, huh?" Max looked up at her but he didn't speak even though he looked like he wanted to. Velvet waited for his response but wished she quickly wished she hadn't. As fast as lightning, Max reached out with both arms, pushed them against the bare knees on her legs and promptly flipped her skirt. Flashing her pink and white, striped underwear for the whole world to see.

Needless to say that Velvet's face almost exploded in a red wave of sheer embarrassment and she hastily flattened her skirt down and unconsciously curled her ears over her face.

"Geez, _Max_!" She cried and crushed the edges of her skirt under her hard grip. "That was uncalled for."

He paid no heed to her distress and laughed as he held up a single finger before running back to his mother where his Coke was waiting. Velvet puffed her cheeks out in annoyance but she didn't press the issue further. That single finger had meant that the skirt flip was the first of his three allowances. Velvet now felt a little sick, dreading how far he could go with his two remaining choices.

But since he was back with his mother for a while, she was temporarily safe. Moving back to the counter, she saw that there was another couple of customers that were ready to pay and leave. She scampered over and prepared the till to enter their table order.

"I'm sorry about that." She apologised. "Now, where were you seated?"

"Over in the corner." The man with a gesture in the general direction of the sofa seats in the window.

"Ah, table 15." Velvet muttered and moved to the pegboard behind her to find the slip of paper with their order on it before entering the prices in to the till with a practiced hand. "That'll be 23 Lien, thank you."

The man and his wife split the cost between them and went on their way before another of Velvet's co-workers tapped her on the shoulder.

"Yo Velvet." The girl greeted. "It's my turn to do the counter. Why don't you clean down some of the tables and take the food order of your regulars?"

"Are you sure?" Velvet asked. Manning the counter was one of the less desirable jobs in the patisserie; she had learned from experience that it was pretty monotonous. "I don't mind standing here."

She tried to talk her way out of going over to her regular's table but her whiskered co-worker shook her head.

"Miss Goldbloom always likes _you_ to serve her and her son." It was rare that Velvet heard anyone else refer to Charlotte and Max by their family name but then again, it was rare that anyone else talked about them at all. Even though everyone knew that Velvet wasn't a territorial person in the slightest, they all just sort of left the job of looking after those two to Velvet. "You're on a first name basis with them aren't you? Go on, it's no problem."

"Alright, Jade." Velvet sighed. "Thanks for taking the counter though!"

Jade smiled and her whiskers twitched as well as the fluffy, white, feline ears on her head before she stood her place at the counter.

Over at the Goldbloom table, Charlotte and her perpetual smile had seen Velvet approaching and called out to her making her son's head perked up almost making her groan out loud.

"Hey, Velvet." Charlotte greeted warmly. "How are you? I hope those two didn't go too far before I came in."

"No no, it's fine, it happens all the time." Velvet said. "They never get physical but Boss isn't one to beat around the bush when he wants to involve the police."

"Velvet, it's _not_ fine, honey." Charlotte's smile dropped and Velvet saw her luminous yellow eyes reveal themselves. "It's never fine. It's a disgustingly low thing to do. If only I wasn't retired and everyone felt that discrimination was as bad as it really is. More people would feel the need to step up and defend the rights of the Faunus. Even though all of this should've been sorted out years ago..."

Charlotte really was a splendid person. Since they had met, Velvet had been told numerous stories of the ex-Huntresses deeds, both from the Huntress herself or any other passing customer. 'The Blazing-Eyed Huntress' was the title she had earned for her acts of valour across all of Vytal. But the various rumours about her retiring had been quite different from person to person. Some thought that a secret organisation had come after her family and said they would stop if she quit being a Huntress. Others said that she had been paid off with large enough lump of money to last her multiple lifetimes.

Velvet didn't know the truth and didn't feel it was so much of an urgent issue to question her about it but that didn't stop Velvet from having her own theory about it. She knew Charlotte Goldbloom better than most of the people she had heard rumours from but most likely nowhere near as much as her family, though it didn't take a blood relative to know what kind of a person Charlotte was... and that was an idol.

Velvet didn't know the truth, but if she had to guess as to what made her quit being a Huntress. It was her son.

She had most likely been pregnant with Max when she started taking less fantastical jobs and always made sure that they wouldn't take much time because she didn't want to put the baby at risk. Eventually she became so heavily pregnant that moving around with the same fluidity as before was impossible and changed her priorities from helping everyone to helping her son come in to the world bright and healthy. Plus, now that Max was here, there would be no way that she as a mother would ever leave her child in someone else's hands. Velvet hadn't heard anything about a husband being in the picture but it didn't matter, she knew that Charlotte was a wonderful person that radiated the same loving, tender Aura that gave her such a womanly feel, the only difference now would be that she would have somewhere to send her love to. The picture always brought a smile to Velvet's face.

"I too, would like that kind of thing to stop." Velvet sighed. "But I don't think everyone understands. Not like us."

Charlotte gave her a pained smile and took Velvet's hand to give it a comforting squeeze that she returned.

"Enough about such horrible subjects." Charlotte dismissed. "How about a cake?"

"I'm ready any time you are." Velvet smiled and brought out her pen and pad.

"Great, then I'll have... a slice of _your_ cake, if you don't mind." Charlotte gave her a wink and it threw Velvet off guard so much that her face turned as red as the cake, completely misunderstanding her order for a second. "And Max'll have his usual chocolate cake, when he comes back from ogling the other cakes."

"I-I'll get right on it." She noted everything down and turned to move back to the cake counter but apparently not fast enough because as quick as a whip, Charlotte slapped Velvet on the bum. Soft enough so she didn't hurt her, but hard enough to force her to make an indecent sound. Velvet's blush intensified as she scurried back to the counter covering her backside as she heard Charlotte let off a chuckle.

Velvet worked diligently to prepare the two slices of cake and place them on to small plates, covered with doilies and provided two, little, cake forks and brought them back over to the Goldbloom's table. Placing the velvet cake and chocolate cake down respectively in front of Charlotte and Max's empty seat.

"You always work so hard to make this cake, Velvet." Charlotte said and she took a bite of the red cake. "I've got to thank you for making such a delicious cake."

"It's no problem, Charlotte." Velvet replied cheerily. "Enjoy your cake."

Back at the counter she told Max who was still inspecting the cakes in the cabinet that his cake was already set out to which he cheered and set off for his table but he quickly stopped and turned to Velvet with a knowing grin.

"I left you a present on the screen." He said before he took off again. Velvet's face ran pale as she leaned over the counter and saw it stuck to the cabinet screen. A big, slimy... _bogey_.

"_Max!"_ Velvet cried. "That's horrid!"

Max didn't even bother to turn to her, instead he only held up two fingers. She wasn't sure whether he was flipping her the bird, giving her a peace sign or claiming that as his second prank. The last one sounded much more viable so with a mixture of a sigh and a groan she headed through the back door to the store-room and rummaged for a few paper towels that she could use to clean up the disgusting mess.

Coming back out of the store-room she was met with a smirk from Max so she glared back at him, but it didn't have the desired effect. Max just thought it was cute, the way she tried to pull her naturally sweet and babyish face in to a glare.

Forgetting about the boy, Velvet set about cleaning the cabinet's curved surface which didn't take too long but seemed longer because of the constant grimace on Velvet's face. She continued to rub at the glass until she was absolutely sure that she could see her face in it and there were no left-over smudges and once she was done she carefully disposed of the sheets, only daring to touch the very edge of the sheets.

Shivering, she returned to cycling round the empty tables clearing away plates, glasses and cutlery and polishing their surfaces ready for the next customers, a couple of whom she served and they were much more pleasant than the previous, two ladies. It was customers like this that made Velvet's time in this store worthwhile.

After siding the cleaning supplies she returned to the Goldbloom table to find Charlotte was sipping at her tea with an empty plate in front of her, only the crumbs remaining. Max, on the other hand, had just cleaned his plate and his dirty cheeks were full of cake.

"Look at you." Velvet sighed as she pulled out a tissue from her pocket and proceeded to wipe his red cheeks clean. "You mess up the display, you mess up your own _face_. What's next? You mucky pup."

Velvet even went as far as to lick her own thumb and use it to rub out some of the chocolate smudged in to his pores. After bopping him on the nose end he wiped at his face himself and gave her a big, toothy grin once he had swallowed and Velvet in her naive mind thought that it was a purely innocent act until slowly but surely he raised a hand with three fingers held upright.

It took a few seconds for the action to click but when it did, boy, did Velvet flush.

"You did that on purpose!" She accused but Max just laughed at her.

"I told you it would work." He said as he turned to his mother and she too let out a hearty laugh.

"You let him do that?" Velvet complained. "Just to play a joke on me? That's cruel Charlotte."

"Well, he's a kid with a crush." She said. "How else is he supposed to show his feelings?"

Charlotte laughed such an infectious laugh that Velvet had already joined in before she thought about what the woman had said.

"H-he's got a _what?_" Velvet asked as she turned back to Max who instantaneously denied it hastily with exaggerated hand gestures and she saw the heat come up his neck and burn his ears.

"Mum, why would you tell her that?!" He cried. "You're so embarrassing."

"There's no reason to be embarrassed, kiddo." Charlotte said as she reached across the table and ruffled his hair. "It's sweet. Secretly, every girl wants a kid to crush on them."

"That's dumb." Max mumbled in to his shoulder to hide his ferocious blush that reflected Velvet's own.

An awkward silence descended over the table and Velvet couldn't help but think that it was her fault. If she hadn't have come over to serve them, Max's secret would still be in the dark. But she was soon kicked out of her stupor quite literally as Charlotte pointed shoe collided with Velvet's shin. She winced and shot a glare at Charlotte but was replied with a jerk of Charlotte's head in her son's direction.

Velvet wasn't sure what she wanted her to do but Charlotte firmly mouthed;

_Fix this._

Almost like Velvet had had the wind knocked from her lungs, she sank in to a crouch by Max's chair, but she knew Charlotte was right. This could only be solved by her words and her words alone.

"Max, listen to me." Velvet said as she laid a hand on his leg. "I like you Max, you're a great kid. But there's ten years between us, sweetie. I think you should wait a while to start thinking about getting a girlfriend. There's other things you should be thinking about isn't there? Like running and playing... heck, even _custard_. I'm ten years older than you and even I aren't thinking about dating anyone, there are a few more pressing matters."

There were a few more seconds of silence with Velvet staring at the back of max's head with a slight warmth to her cheeks. But Max turned back to her slowly and she had never wished for anything more when she then wished for him to have never turned back to her with his shining, tear-stained cheeks and watery, red eyes.

"I can't love you?" He croaked and it took every ounce of self-control in Velvet's body to not let her lip quiver and break down crying herself.

"Of course you can." She told him. "But I can't love you the same way. I'm so _sorry_."

Velvet's voice broke on the last word as her throat was now so tight, even breathing was difficult. She covered her mouth and practically pleaded with Charlotte through her eyes to end this torture and thankfully, she did.

Her smile had dropped from her face and Velvet knew she was angry with her as she dismissed her without a word. Velvet excused herself and speed-walked right through the kitchen door almost knocking over a girl with very, curly, colourless hair and a pair of thick horns sprouting from her scalp. She went to apologise hastily to Velvet but stopped once she saw the single tear trail its way down her cheek.

"Hey Velvet, what's wrong, bun-bun?" The ram Faunus tried to set her tray of food down but Velvet stopped her.

"No, don't stop for me." She squeaked out. "I'll be fine, I just need a few minutes."

The girl was clearly debating as to whether she should stay anyway from the way her feet were paddling around on the spot.

"Why don't you take a seat, bun-bun?" She gestured over to a stool out of the way of the kitchen's working area. "I'll be right back, OK?"

Velvet nodded and trudged her way over to the stool where she sat down and clutched at her skirt's frills and let the tears roll down her nose and fall on to the back of her hands. Her ears had folded over as much as they could in a vain attempt to hide her face from any onlookers, but it was no use, they couldn't curl that far. She was forced to put her head in her hands and cringe as a weak cry left her throat.

What kind of a person was she? She just left a child in tars and with a broken heart. There were countless other things she could've done that wouldn't have brought the poor boy to tears. She could've even humoured him and said '_I'll wait for you_."

Was that really such a hard thing to do? Of course it was. There was no way the world would let her off with an easy day. She was a bad person so of course she had to screw up even the simplest conversations or be bullied just because of these damned ears. She had previously debated cutting her ears off and honestly, that kind of punishment wasn't looking so bad right now.

She cried a little harder after that, her wails coming more frequently and just as she thought that she'd snap, she felt a pair of welcoming arms wrap around her shoulders and bring her head to their muscular chest.

"B-Boss." She whimpered. "I'm so sorry. I did a horrible thing."

"Ssh, Tina." He cooed in to her rabbit ear. "I'm sure it's alright. He's a kid, remember? It won't take much to set him off. You haven't done anything horrible. You aren't a bad person, darling."

"But I am!" She cried in to his shoulder and thumped lightly at his chest. "He really loved me and I rejected him. What kind of person does that?"

"The kind of person that doesn't want to date a 7 year old." He said as he rubbed her back gently with his giant paws. "Come on, Tina. He could move away next week and completely forget about all of this. You did the right thing for the situation, darling."

"That doesn't make me feel any better." She complained as a few fresh tears sank in to his shirt.

"Sorry about that." He confessed but she shook her head, her throat was far too painful for words and as she closed her burning eyes against the crook of his neck he sat his head on top of hers, sighing in to the depths of her large ears. "Maybe you should take the rest of the day off."

Velvet didn't answer him. Going home now would mean that she had been rendered useless in the workplace by just a single thing. But staying would mean that she'd have to be in the same room as the boy she had unintentionally crushed.

"Maybe I should." She mumbled. "I'm really sorry."

"There's no need to be sorry, Tina." He comforted as he let go of her. "Do you want to use the back door?"

Velvet nodded as she wiped her eyes and blew her nose in to a tissue that Boss gave her. She thanked him and apologised once more and yet again he denied it, ruffling her hair gently before she went to collect her bag.

"I'll be off then." She said as she opened the back door.

"I hope you feel better tomorrow." Boss told her and she forced a smile as she backed out in to the cold, biting winter air that unintentionally brought a couple more tears down her red cheeks. She didn't bother to wipe them away.

She set off back to her home but stopped for a moment as she was sure she had heard someone call her name, but continued on her way when she couldn't see anyone. She made a few more steps but was once again stopped by her own name. It was much louder this time. She turned and sure enough, there he was. Max was running straight for her at full tilt and it didn't look like he was trying to stop.

"Max?" She asked tentatively.

"Velvet!" He called back as he came closer with every stride.

"Max!" She finally let herself shout as he leaped straight in to her waiting arms, knocking her down and on to her bum. "I'm so, _so_ sorry, sweetie. I didn't mean to hurt you."

"No, _I'm_ sorry." He fought back. "You were right, I do like custard more than you and I made you cry."

Velvet was hoping for a heartfelt apology but was finding it pretty difficult to do it while laughing.

_He likes custard more than me! That's a killer!_

She continued to laugh and apparently Max found it funny too as he joined in as well. Laugh on the floor, in the middle of the street, without a care in the world. This was how it was supposed to be. Velvet didn't want her life to be a drama and if she did experience any, she didn't want to bring it to work with her.

"I'm glad." She said as she brought him even closer to her and laced her hand in his hair. "I like custard too."


End file.
